Toronto – The Blue Jays de Toronto crowned a reversal from the worst to the first by retaining the New York Yankees to win the last day of the season, their first division title in a decade and the seventh in the history of the team.
“The work is not over,” said Slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after a 13-4 victory against the Rays of Tampa Bay who won the Crown of Division and obtained a Bye in the Division series. “We have to continue playing hard and playing good baseball.”
The Blue Jays finished 74-88 a season, last in the Al East and 20 games behind the first Yankees.
“I think everyone thought that last year was not what we were in a team,” said a Voltner George Springer. “From the first day of spring training, you could feel the atmosphere.”
This year, a scan of four games on New York from June 30 to July 3 was part of a sequence of 10 best consecutive victories that passed as from Toronto to Toronto.
“Once we have somehow hit our stride, we didn’t think anyone could beat us,” said manager John Schneider. “This is, in my opinion, the most difficult division of the game. I only think anyone, besides people who are soaked here like me, we expect us to be in this position.”
Toronto lost six of the seven on the section, falling into a first place with New York, but maintained first place in the American League by winning its last four games.
“We almost broke out at the end, but from that moment, we did not break in the division,” said Schneider. “It was obviously a huge four games for us.”
The Blue Jays won eight of the 13 games with the Yankees this season, giving them the equality break after the two teams finished 94-68.
Springer struck one of the four home circuits of Blue Jays on Sunday rout, its last road in a productive season which seemed unlikely in 2024, when the 2017 World Series MVP experienced one of the worst years of its career, hitting only .220.
“I can’t say enough about him,” said Schneider about Springer. “By agreeing that his last at-bat was a home run. He is the heart and soul of our team. He is contagious when he plays and he is contagious in the clubhouse.”
Toronto will face the winner of the Wild Card Best Of-Three series between the Red Sox and the Yankees in the ALDS, giving Blue Jays a precious opportunity to rest and recover while his enemies are fighting in the Bronx this week.
Match 1 will take place on Saturday in Toronto, and Blue Jays have a home advantage throughout the AL qualifiers after finishing with the best record in the American League.
No doubt no one needs the break more than the Bichette Bo at the Cop stop. The leader of Al Hits and twice all-star has not played since September 6, when he was injured in the left knee in a collision with the recipient of the Yankees Austin Wells.
“This is exactly what we needed,” said Schneider about the five -day break before the division series. “I hope that (Bichette) will have the chance to contribute to it. He has contributed to what we have done here in the past six years. ”
Bichette struck a t-shirt and launch but has not yet resumed the race.
“Every day I feel better,” said Bichette. “I will do everything I can to recover.”
Toronto has not won a playoff match since his loss of the American League championship series against Cleveland in 2016. The Blue Jays won jokes in 2020, 2022 and 2023 but were swept by Tampa Bay, Seattle and Minnesota, respectively.
